“It's currently peak mango season," says Wouter de Koning of Fresh Connection. This Belgian company is also processing 25 to 30% more mangoes than last year. Their growing customer base can partly explain that. The mangoes come mainly from Africa, and Senegal is particularly well represented.
Increasing congestion
Fresh Connection handles the containers as soon as they arrive at port. They operate at the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Vlissingen. "We can arrange inspections, customs clearance, and fiscal representation. As well as quality control, if necessary, and even storage. We take care of transportation from the port to the client too."
"We have everything in-house. We can, therefore, do the handling quickly and flexibly. That's important. The ports are becoming increasingly congested. The growing delays mean we have to be flexible when it comes to arranging transportation. Also, we work a lot with fresh products with limited shelf lives. So handling must be done as quickly as possible," says Wouter.
Fresh Connection handles bananas year-round too.
A future in flexibility
In recent years, the company has put a lot of effort into increasing its logistical process speeds. At the beginning of this year, Fresh Connection opened a new refrigerated warehouse. And its process office operations have been relocated close to the heart of the international Antwerp Port. "We manage as many processes as possible ourselves. So, we're able to be extremely flexible. As a result, we can usually deliver the container from the harbor to the customer within a day," Wouter concludes.
The new office space in Antwerp.
For more information:
Wouter de Koning
Fresh Connection
Tel: +32 (0) 473 370 018
Email: wouter@freshconnection.be
Website: www.freshconnection.be